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Cancer risks in first-generation immigrants to Sweden

Hemminki, Kari LU ; Li, Xinjun LU and Czene, Kamila (2002) In International Journal of Cancer 99(2). p.28-218
Abstract

We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyse cancer risks in 613,000 adult immigrants to Sweden. All the immigrants had become parents in Sweden and their median age at immigration was 24 years for men and 22 years for women. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 18 cancer sites using native Swedes as a reference. Data were also available from compatriot marriages. All cancer was decreased by 5% and 8% for immigrant men and women, respectively. However, most of the male increase was due to lung cancer for which male immigrants showed a 41% excess. Among individual cancer sites and immigrant countries, 110 comparisons were significant, 62 showing protection and 48 an... (More)

We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyse cancer risks in 613,000 adult immigrants to Sweden. All the immigrants had become parents in Sweden and their median age at immigration was 24 years for men and 22 years for women. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 18 cancer sites using native Swedes as a reference. Data were also available from compatriot marriages. All cancer was decreased by 5% and 8% for immigrant men and women, respectively. However, most of the male increase was due to lung cancer for which male immigrants showed a 41% excess. Among individual cancer sites and immigrant countries, 110 comparisons were significant, 62 showing protection and 48 an increased risk. Most of the differences between the rates in immigrants and Swedes could be ascribed to the variation of cancer incidence in the indigenous populations. Some high immigrant SIRs were 5.05 (n = 6, 95% CI 1.82-11.06) for stomach cancer in Rumanian women and 2.41 (41, 1.73-3.27) for lung cancer in Dutch men. At some sites, such as testis, prostate, skin (melanoma), kidney, cervix and nervous system, the SIRs for immigrants were decreased; in some groups of immigrants SIRs were about 0.20. The highest rates for testicular cancer were noted for Danes and Chileans. Women from Yugoslavia and Turkey had an excess of thyroid tumours. All immigrant groups showed breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers at or below the Swedish level but the differences were no more than 2-fold.

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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adult, Africa/ethnology, Asia/ethnology, Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology, Chile/ethnology, Databases as Topic, Denmark/ethnology, Emigration and Immigration, Endometrial Neoplasms/epidemiology, Europe/ethnology, Female, Humans, Lung Neoplasms/epidemiology, Male, Neoplasms/epidemiology, Netherlands/ethnology, North America/ethnology, Ovarian Neoplasms/epidemiology, Registries, Risk Factors, Romania/ethnology, Sex Characteristics, Stomach Neoplasms/epidemiology, Sweden/epidemiology, Testicular Neoplasms/epidemiology, Thyroid Neoplasms/epidemiology, Turkey/ethnology, Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/epidemiology, Yugoslavia/ethnology
in
International Journal of Cancer
volume
99
issue
2
pages
11 pages
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:0037052645
  • pmid:11979437
ISSN
0020-7136
DOI
10.1002/ijc.10322
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
863915b3-ae74-4b03-8438-a0532c618cae
date added to LUP
2019-01-30 12:00:10
date last changed
2024-02-14 16:38:57
@article{863915b3-ae74-4b03-8438-a0532c618cae,
  abstract     = {{<p>We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyse cancer risks in 613,000 adult immigrants to Sweden. All the immigrants had become parents in Sweden and their median age at immigration was 24 years for men and 22 years for women. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 18 cancer sites using native Swedes as a reference. Data were also available from compatriot marriages. All cancer was decreased by 5% and 8% for immigrant men and women, respectively. However, most of the male increase was due to lung cancer for which male immigrants showed a 41% excess. Among individual cancer sites and immigrant countries, 110 comparisons were significant, 62 showing protection and 48 an increased risk. Most of the differences between the rates in immigrants and Swedes could be ascribed to the variation of cancer incidence in the indigenous populations. Some high immigrant SIRs were 5.05 (n = 6, 95% CI 1.82-11.06) for stomach cancer in Rumanian women and 2.41 (41, 1.73-3.27) for lung cancer in Dutch men. At some sites, such as testis, prostate, skin (melanoma), kidney, cervix and nervous system, the SIRs for immigrants were decreased; in some groups of immigrants SIRs were about 0.20. The highest rates for testicular cancer were noted for Danes and Chileans. Women from Yugoslavia and Turkey had an excess of thyroid tumours. All immigrant groups showed breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers at or below the Swedish level but the differences were no more than 2-fold.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hemminki, Kari and Li, Xinjun and Czene, Kamila}},
  issn         = {{0020-7136}},
  keywords     = {{Adult; Africa/ethnology; Asia/ethnology; Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology; Chile/ethnology; Databases as Topic; Denmark/ethnology; Emigration and Immigration; Endometrial Neoplasms/epidemiology; Europe/ethnology; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms/epidemiology; Male; Neoplasms/epidemiology; Netherlands/ethnology; North America/ethnology; Ovarian Neoplasms/epidemiology; Registries; Risk Factors; Romania/ethnology; Sex Characteristics; Stomach Neoplasms/epidemiology; Sweden/epidemiology; Testicular Neoplasms/epidemiology; Thyroid Neoplasms/epidemiology; Turkey/ethnology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/epidemiology; Yugoslavia/ethnology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{28--218}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Cancer}},
  title        = {{Cancer risks in first-generation immigrants to Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijc.10322}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ijc.10322}},
  volume       = {{99}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}